When the Speckled Shells Lie
by niightowl
Summary: The Clans have fallen on hard times far in the future. What remains of the fading StarClan looks down in dismay at their descendants, wondering how they'd fallen so far. Tradition has been spat on and wiped away. The sexes are no longer equal by right. One forced to serve every whim, the other reaping the untold benefits. Of course – someone must right this wrong. Sometime. Right?


**uh hey hey hi it's me im back from a long hiatus yum yum. no one knows me and i see that the community has changed a lot huh. well hopefully y'all will like this story and uhhh yeah.**

**henlo**

**thank you for reading**

**on with the show**

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Hawkkit peeped open his green eyes, looking around the nursery. He sneezed at the tickly soft fur that surrounded him, trying to not breathe it in. Getting to his paws, he stretched, opening his small mouth in a giant yawn, clacking his teeth together at the end of it. Then he whirled around, marching over to his mother's face, his little tawny tabby tail as stiff as a stick. Gently, he patted her with his little white paws.

"Mama? Mama-" The she-cat didn't hear him, instead, sighing deeply in her sleep and twitching her whiskers ever so slightly. "Mama?" he whispered, little face tilting with concern.

Then he decided it was time for more drastic measures.

"MAMA." He swatted at her nose and whiskers more furiously, keeping his small claws sheathed.

This time it worked. Her tawny golden eyes opened into slits, then widened. She yawned, rubbing at her eyes with the side of her paw.

"Hawkkit, how many times have I told you-"

"I'm sorry, mama," he said, looking down at the ground, "I want to play!"

She took in a deep breath and sighed again, "I don't have time-"

"Please, mama?"

"You can play with the other kits! Stars know, you're old enough now. A big kit of six moons like you still playing with his mother's tail and tagging along like a she-cat."

His whiskers drooped sadly, "But I don't wanna play with Shellkit and Ripplekit. And Shorefur won't let me talk to Wavekit-"

His mother looked at him sternly, "Go find something else to do. With your ceremony just days away, you should be able to take care of yourself." Her demeanor softened a little, "Here, why don't you go and see if you can find some pretty shells lying around, okay? It'd make ma- me, very happy, okay?" Hawkkit's face brightened a bit, and he nodded.

"Okay. I'll look for the shiniest and colorfulest shells!" He bounced out at the mission. Shorefur looked up from the other end of the nursery, her pride and joy, Wavekit, sitting at her side and mimicking her every action.

"You're too easy-going on that young tom of yours, Minnowwhisker. I'd have beaten the childish innocence out of him a long time ago if I were you." Shorefur's anguine blue eyes looked up at Minnowhisker as she clicked her tongue, "And the fact that he's whole? That just sets him out as a loner from all of the Clans."

Minnowwhisker's hackles rose. "I don't see a point in crippling a kit like that. Especially not one like him. He's too stupid to try and run away anyways, so it's not like having all four legs working would count as an advantage."

Shorefur smiled, "I'm sure he'll be the talk of the Clans meeting. He's almost an apprentice too."

"You talk like you know the Clans, the customs and traditions," Minnowwhisker mused, irritated by her barbs, "I'm surprised that you even know what a Clan is." She looked disdainfully on Shorefur's brilliantly blue eyes and sleek, creamy white pelt, as well as the darker brown markings on her ears, muzzle, and paws. "You reek of kittypet. Even moons later, you can hardly hunt, and all you do is sit in the nursery and whine about my son."

"Your _offspring_," she corrected, "And though I might not be a Clan-born cat, at least I can tell the difference between a good decision and a stupid one."

"The only good decision you ever made was to stay indoors and leave the real cats to the hunting." She sniffed and gestured to the small Wavekit, "And it's a pity that she's your daughter. We could use more she-cats, but her tainted blood is a disgrace."

"How dare you!" she hissed, "Lilystar thought it was a good choice to let me in!"

"Lilystar is old and daft. I think she thought she was trying to make an apprentice out of a shell, not a useless rabbit like you. At least a shell would have been better to look at."

Shorefur's hackles rose, "You. I- I'm." She grasped for words for a minute, before deciding to go with "I'm going to see Lilystar!"

"You do that. Then do everyone a favor and throw yourself in the river. Maybe you'll even wash up on ThunderClan territory and they'll take you." Shorefur stalked out, incredibly angry. Her small daughter followed.

Minnowwhisker smirked slightly. Another victory against the fox-hearted Clanmate. And it was early in the morning, too.

She stretched and smiled.

It was going to be a good day.

xXx

Hawkkit stumbled by the small stream that ran by the camp, wading in. His clumsy white paws stamped over the silt and sand, making the water cloudy. Sighing, he sat in the water, staring at the bottom of it, trying to see the rocks. When the water was reasonably see-through, he squinted at the water near his paws. No. No shells. Only stones. Stepping carefully, he scouted through the stream, hopes high.

Hawkkit reached the edge of the boundary, screwing up his eyes to see against the sun rays that fairly danced on the water's surface. No, no- no-

Aha!

A shell!

He batted it out of the water, standing on the bank of the stream. He shook each and every paw very delicately to get the water off, then examined his treasure. It was a simple creamy shell, but it sparkled in the sunlight. Mama would be happy!

Then the shell stopped sparkling. A shadow fell on Hawkkit's face, and he looked up, confused. A larger she-cat stood over him, her dark tabby pelt glistening from the water.

"Hello, Hawkkit. What do you have there?"

"A shell!"

"My, what a pretty shell it is, too."

He nodded vigorously, "Uh huh! I'm going to give it to mama, and she's going to like it."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yeah!"

"Hmmm," she bent down to inspect it, "Can I have it?"

Hawkkit looked at her, confused, "N-no- my mama told me that I needed to find shells. So I did! I need to take it to her."

The she-cat frowned sadly, "Please? You can find lots more shells."

"Oh- but." He looked down at his paws, "I need- to take it-"

"I know, but there's always more. At the river, even."

"But I can't go to the river-"

"Silly, silly. You're six moons now! You'll have an apprentice ceremony in a sunrise, or maybe three." She laughed, "Whenever you toms have ceremonies. Lilystar decides when. It could be tonight, even."

"Tonight!" he squeaked, "An apprentice, tonight?"

"Mhm. But maybe-" her eyes sparkled, "Maybe if you give me the shell, then it'll be sooner."

He looked down at the sparkling shell, "Mama does like shells, but she also wants me to grow up. And to grow up, you have to be an apprentice – so…" Hawkkit bit his lip. "I- I guess you can have it. For a ceremony? Tonight, even?"

"Bless you," she laughed, "Yes, I can talk to Lilystar, and maybe you can have your ceremony tonight even." She picked up the shell between her teeth, eyes glinting, and tail waving, "Shee oo, Hawkki."

He blinked, "Goodbye, Ripplepaw." Turning tail, he bounced home, unaware of the consequences on his future.

xXx

The strings of plants hung down, being brushed aside as a cat entered the leader's den. Lilystar stirred, looking up sleepily from her nest. She blinked against the light, smiling slightly.

"Ripplepaw, welcome. What brings you here?"

Ripplepaw dropped the shell at Lilystar's paws, saying nothing.

The gesture wasn't lost on Lilystar, who looked down at the pearlescent object, "Really, Ripplepaw? Aren't you a little young for a tom to ask to court you?" She purred, "I suppose it is good news – you are a very striking young she-cat. But all the same, you're a bit young."

"Mother," Ripplepaw started, with an air of importance, "I am ten moons old, surely I'm old enough-"

Wheezing chuckles and laughter devolved into incessant coughing and hacking; Lilystar gasping for breath over what the younger had said. Mirth shone in her tearing eyes, "You've not even seen the seasons take their full course and you decide yourself that you're old enough-" more coughing laughter "-old enough to take a tom? StarClan above, next thing you tell me you'll be collecting more."

Ripplepaw's whiskers twitched irritably, "Mother. I'm serious."

"I know you are. I am as well. I trust your judgment. To a point. This is too far. You haven't even told me who-"

"That's not important."

Lilystar's eyes narrowed, "It is important. And don't cut me off, kit."

"But-"

"No."

"Motherrrrrrr-"

"Don't you 'mother' me. The decision is final." Ripplepaw sulked, frowning. "There, there, kit. Don't fuss. One day, but not now. Focus on your training." The edges of Lilystar's lips curved upwards, "You'll get what you want, and much more."

"Okay," Ripplepaw muttered, still not moving.

"Is there something else…?"

Ripplepaw looked up, "No. Thank you." She turned tail and left, indignant that she hadn't gotten what she wanted. Lilystar chuckled, pawing at the shell.

"Young she-cats…"

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**well here it is folks, hope you liked it uhhh**

**yeah feel free to say something. tell me how terrible it is or how it's mediocre or the best thing ever, or maybe something in between, ey?**

**until next time,**

**niighty**


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